Yana K.M (RU) | Peace Pilgrimage

Peace Pilgrimage is a month long prayer for peace in the world, peace within our environment and among individuals, and - very important - inner peace. On the physical plane it will manifest in installation spaces created from one thousand origami cranes and shamanic healing practices of the five elements held in each location. After the rituals the cranes will be left exposed to the elements, slowly dissolving as the prayers are blown by the wind to spread good will and loving kindness into the surrounding space. Please, feel free to join the peace walk and meditation sessions (bring your own yoga mat/seat cushion).

Note from Yana: The Twinning 2 as it was initially presented to the festival (TJ & Yana were supposed to spend one month tied to each other) can't take place because K.M duo came to its end before we got a chance to restore the lost balance. This turn of events brought the realization that what is more important than healing your relationship with someone is healing your relationship with yourself. Thus, I will hold the healing rituals during the festival and I invite all my friends, art colleagues from the festival & strangers to walk any period of time they wish tied together and to take part in the ceremonies. Let’s come together to experience our oneness and interconnectedness, to develop the sense of the sacred and to join our prayers for harmony and peace.

Peace Pilgrimage is inspired by an American pacifist Mildred Lisette Normanwhose pilgrimage spanned almost three decades beginning in 1953. Expressing her ideas about peace, she referred to herself as "Peace Pilgrim." Peace Pilgrim's only possessions were the clothes on her back and the few items she carried in the pockets of her blue tunic which read "Peace Pilgrim" on the front and "25,000 Miles on foot for peace" on the back. She had no organizational backing, carried no money, and would not even ask for food or shelter. When she began her pilgrimage she had taken a vow to "remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace, walking until given shelter and fasting until given food." (Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words)

Thousand origami cranesis a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane or some stories believe you are granted eternal good luck. TheThousand Origami Cranes was popularized through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who was two years old when she was exposed to radiationfrom the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. Sasaki soon developed leukemiaand, at age 12, inspired by the Senbazuru legend, began making origami cranes with the goal of making one thousand. She folded only 644 before her death; in her honor, her classmates felt sorry for her death and completed the rest for her. After the completion of one thousand paper cranes they released all the 1000 cranes into the sky, in honor of their fellow school friend and to help with world peace. (from Wikipedia)

The practice of the five elements comes from the ancient tradition of Bon. In Tibetan culture, our planet is considered alive and sacred; and the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space are not just natural resources but can be considered fundamental aspects of a living universe. In fact, every experience one can have, from the sensations of one’s physical body, to the emotions, to the most fleeting of thoughts, is said to be composed entirely of these five elements in interaction. During the meditation practice we connect with the external elements to support us to internalize the essential vital qualities of the elements, retrieve and deeply connect with the elemental essences and nourish and restore health and vitality. By bringing the five elements into balance, we contribute to our own well-being as well as the health of our planet. (Ligmincha Institute)

Yana K.M (RU)

Yana K.M is an artist and a wanderer originating from Russia. She was trained as a photographer in USA and spent two years studying traditional puppetry and dance in Indonesia. Currently her artistic practice is a melting pot of Butoh, Physical Theatre and Shamanic Ritual. Yana has done extensive traveling the globe studying various cultures and art forms while applying an archeological approach of investigation to the self. She is always on the road in search of the miraculous.